TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) baseball team dropped a pair of non-conference contests to #30 Cortland today at Robison Baseball Field, falling 9-6 in the opener before suffering a 12-3 setback.  

RPI's best punch of the day came in game one, where the Engineers erased a 4-0 deficit with a four-run fifth inning and briefly grabbed the lead an inning later. Cortland scored once in each of the first four innings, but RPI finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth. Charlie Lapp was hit by a pitch and Walker Abdallah followed with a single to right to set the table, and after Abdallah stole third, Lapp stole home to put RPI on the board. Charlie Morse then delivered an RBI single to bring Abdallah in, and after Michael Lebenson walked, Andrew Crux ripped a two-run triple to left to tie the game at 4-4. 

Cortland answered with a run in the sixth to reclaim the lead, but the Engineers responded again in the bottom half. Matt Chotiner singled and moved up on Stephen Koval's sacrifice bunt, and after Lapp was hit by a pitch and Abdallah dropped down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners, Morse came through with a two-run single to center to put RPI in front, 6-5. 

The Red Dragons swung the game back in the eighth with a three-run inning, highlighted by a two-run double, and added an insurance run in the ninth on a solo homer to close out the 9-6 final. 

Morse carried the offense in the opener, going 2-for-5 with a team-high five RBI on the two run-scoring singles. Crux finished 2-for-5 with the triple and two RBI, and Abdallah and Lapp each scored twice as RPI produced six runs on eight hits.

In game two, RPI scratched out an early run in the second and added two more in the fourth, but a decisive seven-run third inning by Cortland put the game out of reach.

The Engineers opened the scoring in the bottom of the second as Crux reached, moved into scoring position on a passed ball, and eventually scored on Robbie Reddington's sacrifice fly. Cortland then broke through with seven in the top of the third—using a three-run double as the biggest blow—to take a 7-1 advantage. 

RPI cut into the margin in the fourth. Alex Coombes was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and Chotiner drilled an RBI double to right-center to make it 7-2. Moments later, Chotiner stole home during a double-steal sequence after Abdallah swiped second, trimming it to 7-3. 

Cortland added a run in the seventh and then tacked on four more in the ninth to pull away for the 12-3 final. 

Chotiner led RPI in the nightcap, going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base, while Crux added a hit and scored a run.

The Engineers will stay home this week upcoming week to host Springfield in a non-conference tilt on Wednesday afternoon.